As more people stream more video they’re finding, technological glitches are becoming more annoying--and more costly.

A new survey by Penthera found that lengthy buffering and repetitive commercials can result in viewers abandoning programming, behavior that hurts streaming platforms and advertisers. More viewers are turning to downloading as a way to get better performance when watching videos.

Penthera’s fourth annual survey of streaming video viewers in the U.S. found that in 2021, the average adult will spend 2 hours and 29 minutes watching digital video, an increase of 6%.

At the same time, a higher percentage of viewers report experiencing frustrations when they stream—92% versus  2020. The frustration is also more frequent. Among those surveyed, 68% said they had a frustrating experience weekly, compared to 55% in 2020.

“It’s likely that as users watch content across more available services, they are less tolerant of interruptions, low quality, and other experiential issues,” the report said. 

Viewers’ reactions to those frustrations are also stronger. In the new survey, 57% of viewers said they will give up and try again later (compared to 39% in 2020) and 32% will leave to try a different video app (compared to 17% in 2020). 

Viewers are less patient than ever and will frequently abandon a video stream for other entertainment, the report noted.

To streamers, having a good experience has become more important than the availability of good content. Increasingly they said videos can’t be enjoyed when problems like low-quality and re-buffering occur.

Of those surveyed, 40% said re-buffering is the most common reason they abandon a stream, compared to 26% who said they leave most often because they don’t enjoy the content. When asked the top factor in deciding which streaming service to use, 51% said ease of use and 41% reported videos not buffering as the most important factor. Only 39% said having shows and movies they like was their biggest consideration.

The same pattern appears when it comes to ad-supported streaming video. In the survey, 43% said annoying or repetitive ads would make them stop using an AVOD service and 40% would stop using because of a poor experience like startup delays or buffering. 

Content was less of a priority, with 39% saying they’d stop using an AVOD service because the content isn’t good.

To find a better experience viewers are increasingly downloading content, even when they’re planning to watch at home. 

Last year’s survey found that 43% of viewers said they watched downloaded videos when on a trip and 35% did so at home. But in 2021, the script flipped with 45% saying they watch downloaded videos on mobile at home, while 32% watch them when on a trip.

“During the pandemic when all travel and commuting stopped, we expected to see a decline in download activity across our customers globally,” said Penthera president and COO Daniel Taitz. “What we learned was actually the opposite. Download activity increased around the world as viewers wanted to ensure they had a perfect viewing experience without interruptions right inside their home. It's just a better way to watch.”

Overall people are downloading at higher rates in 2021, with 92% said they’ve downloaded from a streaming service, compared to 88% in 2020.

“Viewers no longer think of download as merely a feature to use when they travel on planes or commute—they think of it as a better way to watch," the report said. “They’re using it at home as well, even when they have a connection, so they can avoid frustrating delays and interruptions."

Viewers said they like watching ad-supported streaming videos, and half said it’s because viewing ads lets them watch content for free or at a reduced cost. But when the experience isn’t good, they won’t hesitate to stop using an ad-supported service. 

The top frustration is annoying or repetitive ads, and 43% of those surveyed said that would make them stop using a service. Unfortunately, this is a common issue.

The same ad repeating is seen as worse than too many ads. In the survey, 36% of viewers said ad repetition is their top frustration with ad-supported video, while 30% said it was too many ads.

Downloading video content is becoming an important feature to mobile users of streaming services, a new report said. 

According to the “TV In Your Pocket” mobile video downloading report from nScreenMedia and VideoNuze, working with video technology company Penthera, 59% of U.S. streaming service users expected services to allow them to download videos.

Those who use downloads are doing it 132% more than in 2018, the report said.

New streaming services Disney+ and Apple TV+ not only support video downloading, but actively promote it a key feature, the report said. Hulu recently started letting subscribers download some of its content. Downloading is also offered by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access and Showtime. 

Overall of the 80 top video service providers studied for the report, 28 offer mobile video downloading.

“Savvy video service providers have therefore concluded that enabling viewers to download video to their mobile devices for offline viewing is necessary,” the report said. 

Downloading is especially important to mobile users because they need flexibility to be able to watch regardless of location. 

“Challenges in mobile connectivity continue to make delivering out-of-home viewing experiences a challenge,” the report said. “For users not on an unlimited mobile data plan, watching video can eat up a lot of their monthly data allotment. Viewing high-quality video on wireless networks can also fail for a variety of reasons. For example, a wireless carrier may not have enough cell capacity, or handoffs between cell towers may be interrupted while a user is in fast-moving cars or trains.”

Penthera found that 54% of U.S. streaming service users said they would be more likely to subscribe to a service that offers a download option and that 67% would pay a premium for the capability.

Penthera, a company that specializes in download-to-go management systems and software, has hired Daniel Hurwitz to the post of chief revenue officer.

Hurwitz, who is late of companies such as SiriusXM, NBC Universal Media and AOL, is tasked with helping Penthera grow its position as a provider of technology that enables secure offline viewing of video and other types of media.

Hurwitz, who has also helped build and rebuild sales operations for comapneis such as Evergage, MapMyFitness and Audience Science, reports to Penthera COO Daniel Taitz.

Penthera said Hurwitz is being joined by his business development partner, Will Chapman, who is serving as VP of sales. Chapman has worked with Hurwitz at GoNoodle as regional VP, and at SiriusXM. Chapman is also the former chief revenue officer of BrightLine and was VP of sales at Audience Science.

“We like to join firms with unique and forward-looking products. Penthera’s suite of products to enhance mobile viewing are the right products at the right time,” Hurwitz said in a statement. “ With a growing team of engineers, Penthera helps  customers  reduce the friction that consumers experience when they view video on mobile devices.”

Penthera, the maker of a download-to-go software platform called Cache&Carry, counts customers such as Starz, A&E, Liberty Global, Comcast, Charter Communications, Showtime, and Corus Entertainment.

In October, Penthera announced a $6 million investment from Liberty Global Ventures.

Penthera Partners, a company that specializes in software that manages the secure downloading of TV shows, movies and other large digital files to mobile devices, said it as received a $6 million investment from Liberty Global Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of cable legend John Malone’s international cable giant Liberty Global.

"I am truly excited that Liberty Global will be helping us grow Penthera and realize the full potential of our technology,” Penthera CEO Michael Willner said in a statement. “Proceeds from this financing will be used to expand our worldwide sales efforts and accelerate the development of new products and enhancements to our existing products."

Penthera develops software that allows customers to watch content when they don’t have access to a suitable internet connection. Its products have been used by several content providers servicing millions of users, including Showtime, Starz, Comcast, and Charter Communications.

"After vetting available technologies we were impressed with the feature sets included in Penthera's SDK,” Liberty Global chief technology officer (Europe) Dan Hennessy said in a statement. “Whether it's for viewing video when connectivity is limited, intermittent or expensive, downloading is a feature we know customers want and will value greatly, which is why we decided to invest in the company."  

Penthera, a company that specializes in download-to-go management systems and software, said it has promoted Josh Pressnell to chief technology officer.

In that role, Pressnell will head up tech strategy at Penthera and also monitor and design apps and services focused on data-heavy 4K and virtual reality that will also lean on digital download platforms.

Pressnell has worked on every software development kit Penthera offers, and was the primary architect of its core iOS SDK, the company said. His recent work includes new features such as FastPlay, which supports downloading as well as a way to improve streaming capabilities by pre-caching the beginning of a video asset that’s been identified by Penthera’s software as the most likely to be watched by the user.

Pressnell was also recognized by Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cableas a member of their “Next Wave of Leaders” class for 2017

Showtime, Starz, Comcast, and Charter Communications are among Penthera’s announced customers.

RELATED: Showtime Adds Download Option to Mobile Apps

“Josh combines the key ingredients necessary to lead Penthera as CTO: he is a stellar engineer and a terrific communicator.  We are excited to have Josh taking charge of an engineering team that has made Penthera an industry leader in technology for mobile video,” Michael Willner, Penthera’s CEO, said in a statement.

Expanding the reach of its managed video downloading technology, Penthera said its Cache&Carry has been integrated with Digiflare’s Videa cloud-powered video app publishing platform.

Penthera’s download-to-go-software enables consumers to watch TV shows and movies without the need for an Internet connection. Video will also tie in Fastplay, a feature that, Penthera says,  enables mobile video app users to stream videos the instant they hit play without start-up buffering. 

The agreement could help Penthera secure beachheads with more distributors and programmers. Digiflare’s announced customers include Bell Media, PBS Kids, Rogers Communications, Charter Communications, Univision, Hearst, Verizon, CW Seed, PBS, Starz, Vimeo, and shomi, the multiscreen VOD venture from Rogers and Shaw Communications that will be shutting down on November 30.

Comcast, Charter, Time Warner Cable (now part of Charter), Starz, and Corus Entertainment are among Penthera’s announced customers.

RELATED: Penthera Downloads Charter, TWC Deals

“We partner with industry-leading infrastructure and software service companies, like Penthera, to support each of our customers’ unique needs, always delivering an improved mobile video experience,” said David George, Co-CEO at Digiflare. 

RELATED: Penthera Picks Up More Patents

“Digiflare provides a premier video app experience for some of the biggest content creators and video service providers in North America. We are always looking for partnerships that expand and improve the end user’s viewing experience: that’s why this integration with Digiflare makes so much sense,” added Michael Willner, Penthera’s CEO.

Penthera, a startup that specializes in software that manages the secure downloading of video to mobile devices, has tapped media industry vet Daniel Taitz as its first COO.

Taitz, who is late of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Univision Communications, will also serve as an EVP at Penthera, service on its board and report to company president and CEO Michael Willner.

Penthera’s announced customers include Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications. Among that group, Comcast is using Penthera’s Cache & Carry system for downloadable titles offered through its Xfinity TV go app and the “check out” capability offered through Comcast’s cloud DVR for its next-gen X1 video platform. 

Penthera said it is adding Taitz to the team amid a growth surge and as it broadens its global scope.   

“We doubled our customer count this year and built a very strong client pipeline,” Willner said, in a statement. “To maintain this trajectory, Penthera is enhancing its sales strategy, casting a wider net to reach the entirety of the very large universe of businesses delivering video direct to consumers both in the U.S. and internationally. Dan, with his breadth of experience in corporate and business development of all aspects of traditional and digital media, will be a key player in the development and oversight of this expansion.”

Taitz has  served as interim CEO for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, was an SVP of business affairs at Univision, and was general counsel and chief administrative officer at Oxygen Media Corp.  Before that, he was a partner at the Friedman, Kaplan & Seiler, LLP and an associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Earlier this year, Willner noted that Penthera was working on a next-gen version of its platform that will enable its partners to switch out ads in TV shows that have already been downloaded. 

Those capabilities, covered in several patents that have been granted to the company, will ensure that the ads in downloaded shows are kept fresh and should position MVPDs to secure additional rights that enable them to expand the amount of titles they can offer in a downloaded fashion. 

The buzz about TV Everywhere is all around us. It has been hailed as a potential savior against cord-cutting and a possible magnet for millennials.

That would be great news if TV Everywhere were, indeed, everywhere. But in fact, it isn’t, and may never be, in my opinion. In spite of the dedicated investments of the industry’s most forward-looking companies, let’s face it: The free, fast, fat Internet access that you need to stream the latest Walking Dead, to binge on Game of Thrones, to watch live sports, will never reach every corner of the telecommunications universe.

Here are some facts: An estimated 60% of tablet owners don’t have a data plan. That means the minute you leave the house most of us have to rely on hotspots.

I don’t know about you, but I hate having to pay again for WiFi access at the airport, in hotels, even on the train. And just try logging in — chances are, if you can get past the login screen, the service will deliver you into buffering hell. Free WiFi is just as bad, or maybe worse.

Sure, I could ditch the tablet and use my smartphone for my video fix. However, a typical cellphone data plan is limited to only 2 Gigabytes. Streaming one hour of HD content will eat that up before I’ve sent a single email. I could, of course, watch four hours of standard-definition content, but I seriously run the risk of data overages — so count me out.

A much better solution is downloading to take content with you on-the-go. Consumers are accustomed to “pulling” content — they do it every time they log onto our video-on-demand portals. Let’s allow them to pull more of the content they already have paid for onto their mobile device.

We already have the rights for in-home viewing, and the technology exists to protect rights holders and restrict the content to a one-time out-of-home view.

To sum it all up: Downloading has become the table stakes for mobile video — Amazon Prime Instant Video and now YouTube Red both enable offline viewing for their content. Consumers expect ultimate viewing flexibility and programmers and service providers need to allow downloading to meet those expectations.

We can either get on the bus, or land under it, because the bus of mobile video and downloading by consumers is inevitably arriving, and it’s picking up speed. Together, let’s invest in true content everywhere.

Melani Griffith is executive vice president, business development, and a board member at Penthera.

Michael Willner, the cable industry vet and current CEO of video downloading tech firm Penthera Partners, has been appointed to the board of Digicel Group, a communications provider with operations in 33 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific.

Willner’s appointment is effective Nov. 1, 2015, Kingston, Jamaica-based Digicel said.

Willner’s been president and CEO of Penthera, a vendor that has deals with several operators, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, since 2012. Willner, the former CEO of Insight Communications (acquired by TWC in 2012), had been set to take the helm of GreatLand Connections, the MSO spinoff that was to emerge from the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. With prospects thin that the deal would gain regulatory approval, Comcast walked away from the deal in April. 

Willner’s appointment comes amid a report that Digicel, which faces off with Cable & Wireless Communications in many markets, is planning to raise up to $2 billion in an IPO as soon as this month, and that it would use the funds for capital spending, acquisitions and to pay down debt.

“The Digicel story is a fascinating one,” Willner said in a statement. “The opportunity to help it evolve from a leading provider of mobile communications into a total communications and entertainment provider and to deliver these services across some of the most vibrant countries on earth was too good to pass up. It’s a unique opportunity and one that I am relishing taking on.”

“As we continue on our journey to becoming a total communications and entertainment company, Michael’s enormous wealth and breadth of knowledge garnered from over 40 years in the cable industry will be invaluable in ensuring that the experience we offer to our customers is second to none,” added Digicel chairman Denis O’Brien. “ Michael is a fantastic addition to our Board and I am delighted to welcome him to the Digicel family.”

Willner started his career in 1974 at Vision Cable Communications, later becoming COO of the company from 1979 to 1985. He has also served twice as chairman of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and was the NCTA’s 2004 Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership, a 2005 inductee into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and the Cable Hall of Fame in 2008.

Penthera,  a startup that specializes in software that manages the secure downloading of TV shows, movies and other content to mobile devices, has reupped its existing agreement with Comcast and has notched deals with Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications.

That’s according to Michael Willner, the CEO of Penthera and the long-time cable exec who was set to take the helm of GreatLand Connections, the MSO spin-off that was to emerge from the proposed (and now scuttled) Comcast-Time Warner Cable transaction.

Comcast started to use Penthera’s Cache & Carry system for downloadable titles offered through an older app called the Xfinity Player in 2012, but is now using the technology to support it on the Xfinity TV Go app as well as for Comcast’s Cloud DVR, which lets customers “check out” recorded titles for viewing on mobile devices when they are offline.

TWC and Charter, which are now set to merge under an agreement announced Tuesday (May 26), are in the process of customizing Penthera’s SDK for their respective environments.

Willner said Penthera has several more deals in the pipeline with other MVPDs as well as with some "major” programmers in the U.S. and abroad. He said Penthera hopes to announce its first deals with programmers “within weeks” that will use the company's download engine with their video apps.

Penthera is also in the process of building a next-gen version of its platform that will enable its partners to switch out ads in TV shows that have already been downloaded . Those capabilities, covered in several patents that have been granted to the company, will ensure that the ads in downloaded shows are kept fresh and should position MVPDs to secure additional rights that enable them to expand the amount of titles they can offer in a downloaded fashion. 

While dynamic ad insertion is used widely in streamed video, “in the downloaded world, it becomes more complicated,” Willner said. “It’s not about when you download the program; it’s about when you watch it in order for the content owners to monetize the viewing of that ad by the consumer. “

Under Penthera’s ad-swapping technique, the system is aware of where the viewer is located and when the last time the viewer made contact via the Internet, and can download a fresh set of ads in the background and insert them into the program that was originally downloaded.

 “It’s constantly updating,” Willner explained.

Willner said discussions about adding that capability are underway and the hope is to have it ready to go later this year or in early 2016, noting that the feature will be “critical” in order for Penthera's partners to secure the rights necessary to offer a greater selection of titles for downloading.

“This had to be solved,” he said.

As a business update, Willner said Penthera is considering an admission of new shareholders through a private offering.  Willner and Sidney R. Knafel, co-founders of Insight Communications (now part of TWC), reunited to invest in and lead Penthera in 2012.

 “We don’t need a whole lot of money in order to get to break even,” he said.